Moonlight
by Joy
Summary: NaruHina Episode 148. There was a beautiful girl standing not that far from him, looking like a goddess bathed in moonlight and doing amazing things with chakra and water. Chapter 2: Hinata's POV.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Most of the dialogue comes from episode 148.

**Moonlight **

Naruto was fairly certain that he was awake. After all, you generally don't dream about getting up in the middle of the night to pee. It was another matter entirely when you saw a beautiful girl dancing in – or rather _on_ – a moonlit waterfall. That was the sort of thing you'd only ever see in a dream. Especially if you were Uzumaki Naruto, dead-last and reviled vessel of the Kyuubi.

If his mind had been working, he might have thought to pinch himself to check. However Naruto's mind was busy elsewhere, mainly on trying to register the fact that there was a beautiful girl standing not that far from him, looking like a goddess bathed in moonlight and doing amazing things with chakra and water.

Naruto had always been an impulsive boy. As such it only took him several eternity's to regain the use of his limbs and leave the boulder he was hiding behind. He wasn't a pervert like his sensei (either of them) and it felt wrong to watch her without her knowing. He felt like a moth drawn to a flame. He needed to get closer.

Unconsciously he reached out a hand to the mysterious girl as he stepped to the water's edge. He felt an undeniable urge to join her. All his life, he had lived on the outskirts, in the shadows. His noisy attitude and pranks had been the only way he could get the spotlight to rest on him, if only for a moment. At that moment, with the dull roar of a waterfall in the background and the full moon painting the world in otherworldly greys, the spotlight of his universe was on the graceful girl before him. And all he had to do to share in that was put one foot in front of another.

Naruto gained control of his voice a heartbeat after he started moving. His eyes were another matter. He didn't seem capable of tearing them away from the graceful silhouette in front of him but that was ok. It was hard enough forcing himself to blink; he feared the girl would vanish as soon as he took his eyes off her.

"Excuse me…" Konoha's noisiest ninja said uncertainly. He didn't want to scare her by suddenly appearing without warning but he'd never been good with words. Naruto would have cursed his inadequacy if he wasn't already busy cursing his clumsiness; he could walk on water, climb trees with just his feet and cling to walls like a damned spider but apparently he couldn't balance on a simple stone without slipping.

"Wha-!" Naruto's startled exclamation was cut off as he fell face forward with a mighty splash. Though thoroughly distracted by clearing his airways, Naruto was sure he heard a feminine gasp and he quickly forced himself to his hands and knees in the calf high water. He was soaked to the skin, his usually spiky blond hair was drooping and his eyes were stinging. It wasn't the greatest first impression but he was determined to put his best foot forward. Hinata had once told him she admired his ability to get up after falling. The present situation might be a bit literal but her words still applied.

He wondered absently why he was thinking of Hinata.

"My bad," Naruto apologized with the biggest grin he could summon. His eyes were still squeezed closed as he lifted his head, facing where he thought she was. "Didn't mean to scare you." He was already kicking himself for disturbing the tranquillity of the moment. Scaring the girl on top of that would be like…like insulting Hinata. Plain mean.

He opened his eyes and the grin disappeared. He gaped. Naruto got to his feet and looked around almost in shock. The sight was still beautiful; a waterfall under moonlight but it was no longer magical. The girl was gone. Gone so thoroughly that he wondered if she'd ever been there.

The dripping of his wet clothes was enough to prove that it was no dream. There was a rather uncomfortable drop of water tracing its way down his back that he ignored. "No one's there…?" Naruto muttered aloud. He made it a question because he couldn't stand for it to be a statement. He was alone. Again. Always.

He didn't know how long he stood there. Ankle deep in water and staring blankly.

* * *

The next day, Naruto had regained his cheerful outlook but he wasn't _quite_ as energetic as usual due to his restless night and the slight cold he'd caught. The four Gennin broke camp early and continued on their way to hunt for supposedly extinct bugs. In his days at the academy, Naruto had never thought he'd go on missions like these. Even he, a boy with a nine-tailed demon fox sealed in his navel had to admit ninja hunting for bugs was weird. After Naruto's first few sneezes, Kiba called him on it. 

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Kiba asked from where he strode along on Naruto's right, "caught a cold?"

"Maybe a little," the blond ninja allowed. Kyuubi's healing powers seemed to take the edge off most illnesses, which was just as well since he hadn't had anyone to nurse him through any childhood maladies. He raised a hand to cover a sudden humongous yawn that overtook him. Damn but he was tired. He could barely keep his eyes open. Not that he minded much; the image of the girl from the waterfall was branded into the backs of his eyelids.

"After all that sleep, you're still tired?" Shino didn't bother to turn around from his place walking in the lead. His words were a subtle jab at Naruto's complaints at turning in early the night before. He of course had been the first to fall asleep.

Naruto perked up a bit. A small part of him wanted to keep his waterfall girl to himself. The greater part of him wanted to spread the word near and far, rather like the way he told everyone he'd become Hokage. If he said it, he would believe it and his midnight encounter was so dreamlike that he was starting to doubt it.

"You see," the blond ninja began. He spoke in a normal speaking voice rather than the hyperactive yell he was known for. "Something incredible happened when I woke up in the middle of the night."

There was a noise from Hinata's direction, slightly in front and to the left of him that sounded like a kitten sneezing. It was rather cute but he didn't dwell on that thought. "Do you have a cold also, Hinata?" he asked, turning to the dark haired girl in concern. He hoped she hadn't caught _his_ cold. Without Kyuubi's help who knew how bad it could get? Not only would she be miserable but she wouldn't be able to help him find the Bikouchuu with her Byakugan.

Unlike Shino, Hinata turned back to face him as she replied. "I'm ok," she assured him with a little smile. There was something familiar about the curve of her face in that position but the train of thought vanished when Kiba grabbed him around the shoulders with one arm.

"So then," the feral looking Gennin prompted, "what was the incredible thing?"

Naruto turned away from Hinata to focus his attention on Kiba, who faltered a little under the full force of the blond's enthusiasm. "You see, there was this ultra pretty girl in the waterfall."

Naruto could have sworn he heard a familiar gasp from Hinata during his explanation but then Kiba was making interested noises and he forgot about it. Naruto had always been a sucker for a captive audience. It came from having to work so hard for every scrap of attention he'd been given.

The blond ninja threw aside Kiba's arm and backed up a few steps. He was going to need some room to give this tale justice. "When she moved her hand," he continued, raising his voice as he got more excited, "the water was like 'ga'!" he lifted his arms to demonstrate. "It was awesome."

Coming from someone who'd studied under one of the three legendary Sennin and mastered a form of the Yondaime's Rasengan, that was saying something.

There was an odd choking sound from where Hinata was walking in front of them. Naruto couldn't see her face but he wondered if she'd been lying about not having a cold and was holding back another sneeze. It would be just like her to soldier on like that. For such a delicate looking girl, Hinata was tough. He'd seen that at the Chuunin exams.

"And then?" Kiba leant forward, caught up in the tale.

Naruto echoed his posture, leaning forward with intense eyes that would have given Rock Lee's burning eyes of youth a run for their money. "When I called out to her, she suddenly vanished." He decided not to mention that he'd also tripped and fallen into the water. They were just unimportant details…right?

"Are you sure you weren't just dreaming it all up?" Kiba asked sceptically. What Naruto was describing had all the signs of a dream…or maybe one of those old legends about water nymphs and heroic mortals. Kiba respected Naruto but didn't think he was exactly 'legendary hero' material.

Naruto let out a big sigh as his face contorted into a series of expressions of deep thought. He knew he'd been to the waterfall last night. He had the cold and the damp clothes to prove it. Had he only imagined the girl dancing on the water? He didn't _think_ so; his imagination wasn't that good. On the other hand, if she was real then yet again someone had run away from him. He might have scared her off by falling into the water like that but it still hurt. Would it be better if she had only been a dream?

"That's what I'm beginning to wonder," Naruto finally said, feeling down.

Kiba didn't take that admission too well. Naruto had wound him up with his story only to fall apart right at the end. "What's with you? Idiot," he said harshly at Naruto's unusually glum expression.

Naruto ignored the insult and in turning away from Kiba, noticed Hinata's red face. "Hinata, your face is red," he said, distracted from his blue mood by concern for a friend. He walked closer to her and peered at her face while she tried to duck away nervously. "Are you sure you don't have a cold?"

If possible, the white eyed girl went even redder and started poking her fingers together. "I'm fine, really," she stammered and stared at the ground unable to meet his eyes.

Naruto wasn't sure if he believed her; she had to have a fever for her face to be so red! But he didn't think Hinata was the sort of person who'd lie. For a moment he pondered if he should ask her opinion of his waterfall girl. They rarely spoke but she always seemed to know what to say to him to make him feel better.

He snuck a glance over at her, testing the waters and decided against asking her. She was looking rather odd and he didn't want to bother her. Telling Kiba had been a big failure…maybe he would keep the memory to himself and protect it from any more outside disbelief.

Naruto nodded firmly as he made his decision. He'd store the memory of last night with his other precious moments, few though they were. It wouldn't be hard; the image of the girl dancing on the water was engraved on his retinas.

Speaking of which, with three Gennin who specialised in locating the enemy around, he figured he could afford to dwell on that memory a bit and lowered his eyelids until he could only barely see where he was going. He remembered the rumble of the waterfall and the way the moonlight sparkled on the dark waters. The girl's face had been a shadowed blur but her silhouette had been clear, thrown into sharp relief by the reflected moonlight. In fact it had been _very_ clear. Clear enough to tell that she was very much a girl but not yet a woman.

It was at this point that Naruto realised something about his ultra pretty waterfall girl. Something he'd sort of _known_ but not really _understood_.

…she'd been naked.

Naruto's body kept moving but his mind…well his mind was far, far away. Until the gentle voice of Hyuuga Hinata piped up, "Naruto-kun, why is your nose bleeding?"

* * *

I was surprised there was so little fic out there referring to the waterfall incident, so I was forced to write my own. :) Was anyone else thinking of Aragorn and Arwen from Lord of the Rings when they saw that? 

- Joy


	2. Hinata's new appreciation for clothes

Disclaimer:  
Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.  
Most of the dialogue comes from episode 148.

**Moonlight Chapter 2  
****AKA How Hinata found a new appreciation for clothes.**

Hyuuga Hinata, Kunoichi of Konoha and member of the Gennin team eight, was in a bit of a predicament. She was also stark naked.

That had something to do with her predicament.

She was crouched behind a tree with her Byakugan activated because she didn't dare to peek around the edge of her hiding place. Only moments ago, she'd been happily training on the waterfall that she could still clearly hear in the distance.

She'd been working on her chakra control…and yes, she'd been naked but that was only practical when one was training so closely with water. Anything she wore would have ended up soaked thanks to all the spray she was kicking up. And how would she explain _that_ to Shino, Kiba or heaven-forbid _Naruto_? She was a terrible liar. Combined with her terminal shyness around her crush, she'd be lucky if she didn't just faint again.

Speaking of Naruto, what was he doing awake at this hour? Hinata hadn't known exactly who or what had fallen into the water with such a loud splash. She'd turned her head in shock and run away as soon as she saw someone facedown in the water. Now with her Byakugan, she recognised the cause of her flight all too well.

For once in her life, Hinata did not go red. Instead she went deathly white. _Naruto-kun…Did you see me…?_ Hinata didn't think so. With the sudden clarity of one on the verge of a panic attack, the young Hyuuga noticed that Naruto was still just standing where she'd left him. He hadn't yelled out her name and she was certain he would've been quite vocal if he'd seen her… _naked._

The near panic-attack receded at that oh-so-reasonable conclusion but left in its place a blush so strong she wouldn't have been surprised if the nearby forest had caught fire. Naruto had almost seen her _naked_. Hinata was mortified. She clutched her knees to her chest and hid her face behind her hands. That didn't do much for her since she still had her Byakugan activated and there was no way she was turning that off while she was naked in the woods.

Even worse than the near miss was the fact all of her clothes (and her ninja equipment) were on the other side of the waterfall. With Naruto.

Hinata bit back a whimper.

She couldn't go back to camp without her clothes. But if Naruto got back before her he'd notice she wasn't in the tent. Then he'd wonder where she was and that could only lead to Very Bad Things.

Hinata shifted her hands to hold onto her knees; she'd felt a bit silly, shielding her face when she had her Byakugan activated. She couldn't even find some comfort in the familiar gesture. Not to mention she could still see everything around her…including Naruto.

He was so still; he seemed more like a statue than a person. A statue with dripping clothes and an expression she couldn't decipher. Hinata frowned. Had he _seen_ something? What was he doing there in the first place? Since he didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, she rested her chin on her knees and tried to think it through.

Hinata liked thinking. She probably did it too much; if she was busy thinking, she wasn't out there do_ing_.

Had Naruto woken up and noticed her gone? Was he out here looking for her? No, that didn't make sense. He hadn't called out her name or anything like that.

If he hadn't noticed her gone, then why was he wandering the forest? A few possibilities occurred to Hinata and any progress she'd made on controlling her blush went out the window. She primly decided _why_ Naruto was out there wasn't really that important. Maybe he'd heard the waterfall and decided to get a drink…or go for a swim.

"Eeep." Hinata clapped her hands over her mouth and prayed she hadn't been heard. She also fought back the urge to faint using sheer force of will. She had some great motivation; if she fainted now, she'd probably wake up in the morning _stark naked_, surrounded by a trio of teenaged boys.

_I will not think about Naruto-kun swimming…naked…_ Hinata's mind chose that moment to freeze on a mental image of _both_ of them in the waterfall with no clothes on.

_No! Bad Hinata!_ She shook the image away. Her thoughts weren't usually so perverted but she _had_ been dancing under the full moon _naked_ not that long ago. It was bound to be influencing her.

Hinata tried to focus her thoughts. She needed to get her clothes back. Her clothes were within spitting distance of Naruto. Naruto was not moving. Why wasn't Naruto moving?

If he'd just leave, she could grab her clothes and make a mad dash back to camp. With her Byakugan, she'd have an advantage over him in the dark, even if there _was_ a full moon out that night.

Thinking of the bright moonlight made her cringe. Hinata seemed to have reached her limit on blushing that night. She must have been lit up like under a spotlight when she'd been on the water.

Had Naruto been so fuzzy headed with sleep that he hadn't noticed her at all? He didn't seem to have noticed her absence from their tent… If he'd seen _something_ but not known what or who it was, wouldn't he have called out?

Thinking back, she might have heard something right before the splash but it was too quiet for it to be _Naruto_ speaking. It had probably just been some other night noise. She admitted inwardly that the only thing she'd heard during her panicked flight was the blood rushing in her ears. By the time she found a hiding place, only the usual night noises remained.

Naruto _still_ wasn't moving and it was starting to worry her. If she hadn't seen him fall into the water, she might have thought that he'd come out to brood about Sasuke, even though he'd never been the sort to brood about _anything_.

Pumping more chakra into her Byakugan, Hinata checked his inner coils. _He's fine_, she decided. _So why is he just standing there?_

For long minutes, Hinata echoed his stillness but after she'd squashed one too many mosquitos (with a slightly guilty thought directed towards Shino) she couldn't take it anymore. She was naked, cold, naked, tired, naked, frazzled, naked, mortified and _naked_. Enough was enough.

Naruto hadn't moved since she'd started watching him. He hadn't even turned his head, which might explain why he hadn't seen her clothes. Perhaps she could sneak over and retrieve them without him noticing? It was a good idea; she wouldn't have to race him back to camp if it worked.

If it _didn't_ work…well that would be Very Bad. Caught Naked by Naruto-kun bad. That was right up there with 'Naruto-kun finds out how she feels about him.' Possibly worse. She really didn't want to think about _either_ scenario.

Hinata lowered her hands from her mouth and took a deep breath. _I have to do this, _she thought and started feeling light headed as she imagined all the things that could go wrong. _No, I wont back down,_ Hinata told herself fiercely. _Remember your Nindo. Don't go back on your words. _She took another deep breath to steady her nerves and started thinking of a plan.

The direct approach was definitely out. She could just imagine how _that_ would play out:

"_Close your eyes please, Naruto-kun! Why? Well, I'm stark naked and I need to get my clothes which are off to your right a bit. What am I doing out here with nothing on? Well I certainly wasn't dancing on a waterfall and playing around with chakra and water. Even if I was, I wasn't doing it naked. Not shy little ol' me. Plain looking, dark weirdos don't do things like that."_

Hinata buried her face in her hands and suppressed the urge to groan. She wondered if her brains were leaking out her ears from all the stress. That would certainly explain why her internal voice seemed to have gone moreinsane than a Sasuke fan-girl.

_Focus, Hinata_, she told herself firmly and tried to think of other options. The little pep-talk didn't stop her from furtively reaching up to check her ears for escaping grey matter.

Causing some sort of distraction sounded like a better idea. If she could lure Naruto away, she could get her clothes easily. Just as she started to feel a bit more positive, she was overwhelmed by all of the weaknesses of such a plan. A big enough distraction to lure him entirely away from the waterfall would have to be noisy, explosive even. Something like that would probably wake up Shino and Kiba.

Her teammates would either immediately notice she was gone and quickly find her hiding in the forest _stark naked_. Or they would join up with Naruto, notice she was gone and quickly find her hiding in the forest _stark naked_.

Even if the distraction didn't wake them up, her beloved hyperactive ninja would probably do so while he investigated it. This in turn would lead –yet again- to being found in the forest with no clothes on. If she was _extremely_ lucky, she'd be able to get dressed before they tracked her down. Either way, she'd still be forced to explain what was going on and then she'd quite literally die from embarrassment.

All of this boiled down to one thing. Big distraction Very Bad Thing for Hinata.

She immediately turned her thoughts to _small_ distractions.

Perhaps something that would merely make him look away from where she'd folded her clothes? It could be as basic as a thrown rock or maybe some sort of genjutsu. Kurenai wasn't her sensei for nothing.

The idea had potential but Hinata didn't like it. What if he didn't fall for it? What if he looked around and saw her clothes? What if he guessed it was her? Naruto wasn't a genius like Shikamaru, or book smart like Sakura but he had a lifetime of pranking under his belt. Maybe there was someone out there who _could_ pull one over on him but Hinata was sure it wasn't her.

_That leaves me only one option_, Hinata realised. She didn't dare to do anything to catch his attention, even as a distraction. Naruto seemed to be almost in a trance…perhaps _that_ could be her distraction?

She would have to be completely silent while she worked her way over to his side of the waterfall. Then she'd need a Henge…or maybe a genjutsu to reach her clothes without being seen. The rock they were resting on was back beyond his peripheral vision, so it _should_ be possible. As long as he _kept_ gazing into space like that, she had a chance.

Hinata took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her nerves. It was time to act.

* * *

The next morning, Hinata was in a good mood. 

She was sleepy, worn out and had some mosquito bites in embarrassing places but she was _not_ naked. Her large coat had never felt so comforting and she was discovering a new appreciation for her ninja sandals. Even the weight of her backpack only served to brighten her day. Imagine, spare clothes within easy reach!

Composing haiku in honour of such a concept would've been a bit strange, so Hinata restricted herself to a content buzz.

It also didn't hurt her mood that Naruto was walking along within arms reach of her.

"Caught a cold?" Kiba asked the blond ninja after he sneezed yet again.

"Maybe a little," Naruto replied and yawned. Hinata watched him from the corner of her eye and felt a stab of guilt at how tired he looked. She felt like it was her fault for whatever happened to him at the waterfall.

"After all that sleep, you're still tired?" Shino asked with his usual lack of emotion. Since he was the leader for this mission, he was leading the way while the rest trailed behind.

Naruto _had_ been the first one to fall asleep, even though he was the only one to complain about the early bedtime. Apparently he felt the need to defend himself and proceeded to explain. "You see, something incredible happened when I woke up in the middle of the night."

Hinata choked down on the squeal that tried to force its way from her throat. The resulting noise sounded a little like a sneeze. Her previously calm thoughts scattered like autumn leaves. _Last night? Incredible? Naruto-kun, what did you see? If you saw me, why have barely glanced my way today?_

"Do you have a cold also, Hinata?"

Hinata refused to lose control in front of Naruto, so she forced back her sudden urge to run screaming and instead calmly turned to look at him from over her shoulder. He sounded so concerned and looked genuinely interested in her answer. Just looking at him made her feel better. She smiled. "I'm ok," she said.

_I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown but you're looking at me with those eyes and I feel like I could defeat the hidden sound village single-handed...or maybe I could just melt into a puddle at your feet. Would you mind?_

Kiba promptly ruined the moment by grabbing Naruto and demanding to know what incredible thing was he talking about.

Hinata wanted to smack him with a 'gentle fist' for the interruption and reminding Naruto of last night. But being Hinata she merely composed herself and turned to face forward. Part of her actually wanted to hear Naruto's side of the story. She herself wasn't exactly sure of what had happened at the waterfall.

"You see," Naruto began his explanation with his usual enthusiasm. "There was this ultra pretty girl in the waterfall."

Hinata's life flashed before her eyes. _Naruto-kun saw me naked!_

"When she moved her hand, the water was like 'ga'!"

Behind her, Naruto was gesturing wildly with his arms but Hinata missed it completely. The near melt-down of the night before had returned full force. _At least this time I'm not naked_, what remained of her rational mind interjected. This well-intentioned thought didn't help much since the damage was already done_. Naruto-kun saw me naked! Why is he telling everyone? Naruto-kun saw me naked! Did he just call me pretty? Naked! Wait…ultra pretty?_

"It was awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.

_Did Naruto-kun just call me awesome?_ Hinata nearly fell over from shock. _Wait…_she thought. _If he saw me, why doesn't he seem to care that I'm standing right here? _Confused, embarrassed and verging on freaking out, Hinata clenched her fists in front of her and felt herself begin to sweat.

She didn't dare to turn around and watch when Kiba asked Naruto what happened next. Her face grew so hot she wondered if her hair would catch fire. Naruto replied with all the flair of storyteller sitting at a campfire.

"When I called out to her, she suddenly vanished."

Hinata blinked. For a moment puzzlement outweighed her nerves. _Naruto-kun called out to me?_ She wondered if that had been before or after he fell into the water. Ever so slowly, her mind started to function again. _He must have seen me but not recognised me,_ Hinata realised. The moonlight had been bright but it could also be deceptive, turning the world into an alien landscape.

_How could he not recognise me?_ Hinata wondered with a sigh. This was depressing as well as embarrassing. Did Naruto even _realise_ she was a girl? _I was naked! _She complained inwardly_, how much more exposed can you get? _She glanced down at the clothes that only moments ago she'd been silently praising. _…oh. Right. That would probably explain it._

Meanwhile, Kiba was sceptical of Naruto's story. He thought he must have dreamed it all up. Hinata blessed his unwise habit of not looking at the world too deeply.

Naruto admitted to his own doubts and Kiba called him an idiot.

Hinata would've been a more cross about that insult if she wasn't busy trying to control her blush. Naruto had seen her but didn't know it was her. Kiba thought it was all a dream. Shino…Shino hadn't said a word. Did he suspect that it had been her but was keeping his mouth shut for her sake? Did he think it was just all in Naruto's head? His version _did_ sound rather fantastic, Hinata noted. Had Shino even been listening? Maybe he'd been too busy communicating with his bugs to pay attention to Naruto's chatter.

_Naruto-kun never actually said that the girl he saw was naked,_ Hinata realised. Kiba certainly would've reacted differently if he'd thought it was _that_ sort of a story. _So even if Shino-kun suspects, at worst he'll just chide me for training when I should be sleeping._

"Hinata, your face is red. Are you sure you don't have a cold?"

Hinata nearly jumped out of her skin when she noticed Naruto walking beside her. He was peering at her face with concern.

This did not help her control her blush.

"I'm fine, really," she told him, trying to hide her face. Her voice shook. If he touched her forehead to check for a fever like he had at the hospital, she _knew_ she'd keel over in a faint. Her hands unclenched and she started poking her fingers together.

_Could you not tell that I was naked last night, Naruto-kun?_ she wondered. _What your view that bad? But you called me an ultra pretty girl, so you must have seen me…_ Hinata poked her fingers a bit faster at that thought and tried to calm down. She reminded herself that no matter _what_ he'd seen he still hadn't recognised her. Maybe he was just trying to be a gentleman and not mention her lack of clothing.

Hinata peeked over at him. His eyes were nearly closed; he was probably still tired from the night before. At least he'd stopped sneezing. Hopefully she wouldn't have to brush up on her cold remedies after all. Naruto's face was relaxed and his mouth was curved into a pleased smile. The only thing that spoiled the peaceful picture was the thin line of blood trickling from his nose.

Hinata felt an eyebrow twitch.

Shino and Kiba were like brothers to her; she knew the signs of boys having perverted thoughts. Even Neji had his moments. And she had a good idea what or rather _who_ these particular perverted thoughts were centred on. For the first time in her life, she listened to the devil on her shoulder, though in her case it was more of a slightly tarnished angel.

Part of her (probably the same part that made her dance naked on waterfalls under the full moon when she knew damned well that Naruto was sleeping nearby) might be happythat Naruto was daydreaming about her naked but there was the principle of the thing. So she screwed up her courage and spoke as innocently as she could.

"Naruto-kun," she asked, "why is your nose bleeding?"

* * *

I hadn't been planning on a second chapter but I got to wondering. During episode 148, how the heck did Hinata get her clothes back? I took a few minor liberties with the script but I don't think giving Naruto a nosebleed is too extreme. Besides, it's funny. :) 

-Joy


End file.
